April 18, 2013

Recipe: Loaded Cranberry-Oatmeal Muffins

A few days ago, I made one of my baking staples, Apple-Cinnamon Oat Bran Muffins. Only to discover I had no oat bran, no eggs (I've been veering to vegan of late, so eggs don't often make it into the house these days), and lots of dried (unsweetened!) cranberries from Fairland Farm I bought at the Pawtucket Winter Market on a recent trip to Rhode Island.

I altered my original recipe and the results are a new favorite that uses a "flax egg," increases the oats and nuts, and makes for a healthy, crunchy, delightful breakfast or snack.

Loaded Cranberry-Oatmeal Muffins

1/2 C. wheat flour

1 C. oats

1 C. ground/chopped nuts (I used a blend of pecans and walnuts, chopped by hand)

5. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Spoon batter into muffin tins. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until tops spring back when touched and are brown, and center is cooked. I usually check them at 20 minutes and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Place tins on wire rack to cool.

6. Remove from tins after 5 minutes or so, and cool on plate. Keep refrigerated until ready to enjoy!

Fantastic -- they're one of the tastiest muffins I've made. Please let me know how they come out/any suggestions for alterations or improvements! One of my other secrets around this recipe is using my vintage 1930s muffin tin to make them -- the portion sizes are GERD-perfect! :)

What is Cranky G?

I have been diagnosed with gastroparesis -- "slow stomach emptying." In other words, things don't move as quickly as they should. Side effects include GERD, constipation, bloating and nausea. (I was first diagnosed with "GERD," so I named this blog in honor of the situation. These days, I think of it as Cranky G, for all of my cranky gastro issues, which include some GERD symptoms.) While my GI journey is the focus, I do include other topics here and there which may be of interest, and because we are more than our GI tracts! :)